April 21st, 2009
by Will Sarni
This past week was filled with news stories regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “endangerment ruling.”
Some background, and how this latest move “fits” within the quickly evolving U.S. policy:
On April 2, 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), the Supreme Court found that greenhouse gases are air pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act. The Court ruled that the U.S. EPA Administrator must determine “whether or not emissions of greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare, or whether the science …
Tagged: Clean Air Act, environment, EPA, greenhouse gasses, Renewable Energy
Posted in Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Sustainability
April 1st, 2009
by Will Sarni
Today we were inundated with e-mail alerts and blogs that provide details of the Waxman- Markey plan drafted by the House.
The plan outlines a cap and trade program to regulate greenhouse gases. The draft proposal will use 2005 as a base year and require that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 20 percent by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050. This draft legislation is a bit more aggressive than the timetable proposed by the administration.
In addition the legislation would require utilities to generate 25 percent of their electricity from renewable energy by 2025.
Key provisions, yet …
Tagged: Climate Change, greenhouse gas, markey, Renewable Energy, U.S. Climate Action Partnership, USCAP, waxman
Posted in Business, Renewable Energy, Sustainability
February 20th, 2009
by Will Sarni
So while we “debate” if renewables can take on our domestic (and increasing) need for energy, the wind sector starts to “take off.”
Lost in the headlines of the financial meltdowns, bailouts and recovery plans are a couple of stories that reflect the increasing adoption of wind technology in the U.S. While wind power represents just a fraction of current U.S. energy production, last year the U.S. was the largest producer of wind power ahead of Germany.
During the summer of 2008, the U.S. wind industry exceeded 20,000-megawatt (MW) installed capacity and achieved …
Tagged: Renewable Energy, renewables, wind energy, wind generation, wind power
Posted in Renewable Energy
January 1st, 2009
by Will Sarni
A friend of mine sent me a story on December 31 about how Lake Superior University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan has targeted environmental words as part of their annual “”Words to Be Banished from the Queen´s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.”
The annual list, includes “green” and “going green” as well as “carbon footprint” and “carbon offsetting,” the university reports. The list, issued each year since 1975, comes from thousands of nominations each year. Other favorite words to make the latest list include: “maverick,” “staycation” and “bailout.”
This comes on the heels of an article in the 2008 titled, …
Tagged: carbon neutral, green industries, Renewable Energy
Posted in Business, Sustainability
